China Has ‘Cornered the Market’ on Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Jeopardizing US National Security: Rep. Harshbarger

A Republican lawmaker says pharmaceuticals acquired from China are nothing less than medication acquired from the nation’s enemy. She’s fearful that supply chains could be leveraged against the United States.

Earlier this year, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and colleagues introduced the “Protecting our Pharmaceutical Supply Chain from China Act of 2022” (H.R.7121). The legislation aims “to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to maintain a list of the country of origin of all drugs marketed in the United States, to ban the use of Federal funds for the purchase of drugs manufactured in the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes.”

The legislation currently is being considered by the House Subcommittee on Health.

The Epoch Times spoke to Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), one of the legislation’s seven co-sponsors and a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. While she considers this piece of legislation to be an important step in the matter, Harshbarger said that “to put a stop to having to take China’s drugs, the United States needs to incentivize American companies to bring the manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) back to this country.”

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